Critics rip study calling for more roads

Thursday, March 25, 1999 | 2:02 a.m.

A doubling of miles traveled each day by Las Vegas motorists calls for an all-out plan that includes more roads and highways, says a nonprofit group out of Washington, D.C.

Critics, however, are saying "not so fast." More roads and highways, they say, will only compound the problem. Where there are roads there will be drivers, they say, adding that more buses and trains and walkways should constitute the greater portion of any proposed solution.

Between 1992 and 1997 the number of vehicle miles traveled each day in Las Vegas increased 85 percent, according to the study, which was funded by the highway construction industry.

Although the report's figures are generally accepted, the motivation for the study and its recommended solutions have sparked the criticism.

Compiled by the Road Information Program (TRIP), a nonprofit research group based in Washington, D.C., the report says the number of miles traveled by vehicles each day in Las Vegas grew from 11.6 million to 21.3 million during the five year period.

TRIP says that amount of traffic will inevitably create severe traffic congestion problems.

The solution lies in a comprehensive approach that includes more roads and highways as well as increased used of public transportation such as buses and light rail, TRIP spokesman Bill Outlaw said.

"Some smart growth proposals have tried to make improvements based solely on light rail and not include roads," Outlaw said.

One organization that takes issue with TRIP's call for more roads and highways is the Surface Transportation Policy Project, which is backed by 200 environmental groups.

"Basically, research is starting to point to the fact that building more roads induce people to travel more," said Barbara McCann, a campaign worker for the Policy Project. "What happens is, they drive farther, more traffic is on the road, people take trips they wouldn't take otherwise.

"For every 1 percent of new lane mile we're adding .9 percent more traffic. More roads is a short term solution," she said.

McCann was skeptical of information released by TRIP, stating that the organization is basically a public relations arm of the highway construction industry.

"It's great to see them talking about balanced transportation. That's totally new coming from them," McCann said. "But what they're really talking about is more roads, and you can't have it both ways. You can't have it all."

McCann said TRIP claims ridership is down on public transportation, when in fact it is up 7.7 percent.

She said that for Las Vegas to maintain current congestion levels, it would require the construction of 62 more lane miles annually at a cost of $1,145 per year for a family of four.

Both organizations claim a balanced approach is needed in resolving traffic problems.

McCann's organization believes the balance should be weighted more in the direction of alternatives to automobile traffic.

"Our road system is pretty well built out," she said. "We're at a point of diminishing returns when we rely solely on road traffic. We think more emphasis needs to be on providing more travel choices: buses and trains, being able to walk places."

Outlaw's group says there is an obvious need for more roads and highways.

"Since 1970, highway travel has increased by 130 percent, our nation's population has increased by 30 percent, but new road mileage has increased by only 5 percent," Outlaw said. "If you have to boil things down, we're looking at highway travel since 1970 growing 24 times as fast as new road mileage."

Outlaw said the more solutions to the traffic problem, the better.

"The more types of things are used, the better for transportation," he said.

Outlaw says the federal study from which TRIP developed its report shows a steady increase across the country in traffic.

"It doesn't make sense not to make road improvements," he said.

Outlaw said the organization decided to release its report today at ConExpo, a convention for those involved in the highway construction industry, because of its timeliness.

"The whole smart growth thing as policy started coming so we started to develop our own smart growth policy," he said. "We didn't like some of the policies we were seeing on the national level."

Because of the convention, TRIP researchers looked at the growth patterns here and discovered the phenomenal growth in traffic.

Just how much growth there was a surprise, the researchers said.

It also surprised Shashi Nambisan, director of the UNLV Transportation Research Center.

The Center does research for the Regional Transportation Commission, the Nevada Department of Transportation and other groups.

When Nambisan first heard the numbers released by TRIP, he was skeptical and contacted the Regional Transportation Commission for figures it had on traffic conditions in Clark County.

"It looks like the (TRIP) numbers are very close," he said. "I hadn't expected it doubling."

He said the miles traveled represent 22 miles for every valley resident (excluding tourists) every day.

If half the people are employed, that means every employed person travels an average of 40 miles every day.

He said the solution may be found in a combination of steps, including more highways.

"We need people to change their behavior, which is easier said than done," he said. "When I say change behaviors, I mean more car pooling and mass transit."

He said we are adding more lanes to roads, which generates more traffic.

"Build them, and they will come," he said.

In the TRIP report, Austin, Texas, was second, with 18.9 million miles, a 50 percent increase between 1992 and 1997.

TRIP ranked the nation's 50 largest urban areas in its study.

At a press conference scheduled for this afternoon at the convention center, TRIP was to release the top 10 areas and to make suggestions about how to cope with the increase in highway use.

Congestion costs the average driver $510 annually in additional fuel costs and wasted time, the TRIP study says, citing a recent report from the Texas Transportation Institute.

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